What Are You? More Importantly,What The Heck Am I?
by Natwolfess
Summary: Maddie works to figure out what’s going on with Danny. Problem is, he’s not going to tell her, and he’s nearly as elusive as Phantom when he doesn’t want to be seen. Now, she’s in more danger than ever before. Rated for safty. Reviews appreciated.
1. Late Night

**What Are You? More Importantly, What The Heck Am I?**

**Chapter One**

_What am I missing?_

The question again skimmed the violet-eyed woman's conciseness as she lay on her back next to her elephantine husband, Fenton Earplugs in place to block out the man's snoring and leaving her in relative silence.

_So many pieces to the puzzle. I have every one of them, but no picture to form, no guide to follow._

Maddie rolled over on her side, her back to her spouse. What was going on to drive her to such a state of insomnia that she was wide awake at five in the morning was a mystery to her.

_The martial arts session just a week ago... How he pulled that off at his age with only the most basic training—that took him months to complete—is beyond me._

Last Saturday, Maddie had taken her son and daughter to a karate class while their father spent the day working on the new Specter Speeder to replace the one Sam and Tucker had totaled a while back. Years ago, the two youngest Fentons had been trained in the entirety of the white belt level for self-defense. The girl, Jasmine (Jazz for short), had taken just a month to complete the training, but the boy, Daniel (preferably Danny to his mind), had taken nearly a year to achieve the yellow belt rank. Obviously, it was Jazz who had inherited her mother's fighting skill. And yet, Danny had been elevated in one day to the red belt level, a very big improvement from the simple yellow belt and skipping several other belts along the way, while Jazz only improved her old moves a bit and learned some new ones. Obviously, Danny was actively using martial arts, probably on a daily basis. And not just on on thin air. His flying-jump-kick had not only made the seasoned veteran (Sensei) who was testing his power in the attack fall flat on his butt, but had actually sent him skidding for a couple feet. And, in a sparring match, he'd blocked or dodged every one of his mothers attacks, and defeated her with a single, powerful roundhouse kick that sent her sprawling. You didn't get that kind of strength from fighting imaginary enemies.

_Lately he's been more than just missing his curfew, he's completely omitted it, except for the very occasional day when he actually does make it. His excuses are continually less and less believable. He looks more than just tired some days, like even though he usually heads to bed right after dinner he still doesn't sleep for more than a couple hours. And I know teenagers usually stop talking to their parents as much as they used to, but our lack of communication is getting a little extreme._

It was true. Danny and Maddie had not had an actual conversation since a couple months ago when they went bowling together. Maddie wasn't blind to this, and found herself wondering where she'd gone wrong. She knew Danny disliked his lack of a normal family, and yet had never given it a thought before. But if that was the whole reason he actually seemed to be avoiding speaking with his own parents...

_Come to think of it... Danny hasn't been the same since that accident about a year ago. I know a near-death experience like that, turning on the Portal and nearly getting killed by way of electrocution if he hadn't gotten out in time, can cause trauma, but he hasn't shown any signs of that. He hasn't seemed to be afraid of going anywhere near the Portal at all. On the contrary, he seems to be spending even more time down there than ever. Jack thinks he's just getting into ghosts, but that seems unlikely somehow... Well, that's another piece to the puzzle._

Maddie came to glare angrily at the alarm clock, which now showed five thirty. Obviously, she wasn't going to be getting any sleep tonight. The alarm would be going off in half an hour, anyway. Somewhat annoyed, she got up and moved to the bathroom in the hallway so as to remove her earplugs without going deaf. Once that was taken care of, she proceeded to her shower. Letting the warm water run over her exposed skin, Maddie again contemplated the puzzle.

_And what about yesterday? He went up to his room, never seemed to leave, but he came back into the house through the front door an hour later and limping, but he was fine when he went to bed later. He's keeping something from us... And it might be dangerous, to himself more than us I think. He and Jazz seem to be getting closer though... Maybe she can help me figure out what all this points to._

She turned off the shower and toweled herself off, pulled on her typical blue hazmat. Upon leaving the bathroom, however, a flash of brilliant white light came from beneath her son's bedroom door, through the crack between the wooden door and the carpeted floor. This stopped the mother in her tracks, her eyebrows arched high in a mixture of surprise and curiosity, all worry forgotten. That, to her knowledge, had never happened before. The flash was quickly followed by a thumping sound, as if something had just leapt onto her son's bed. Worry returning to her features, Maddie grabbed hold of the doorknob and twisted hard, throwing the door open.

Danny lay still in his bed, his back to the door, looking to be fast asleep, but something wasn't right. His breathing was too quick, and she could have sworn he'd abruptly stopped moving, hoping to fool whoever had thrown his door open like that.

"Danny?" Maddie questioned, watching her son. He seemed to stiffen slightly, but otherwise showed no reaction. She stood silently in the doorway for a full minute before he cracked open one eye and turned his head to check if she had gone. He groaned when he realized she had not and sat up on his bed, staring guiltily at his mother. She came and sat down next to him, remaining silent for a second before asking,

"What was that flash?"

A look of terror flitted across his face for just a split second, and then it was gone. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he answered in a would-be casual tone of voice,

"Flash? What flash?"

Maddie raised an eyebrow at his edgy behavior. Obviously, he wasn't comfortable with that particular subject. But why?

"I saw a flash from your room."

"Umm... Well... I can't imagine why..."

"Is there something wrong, Danny?"

"Well... Yes, actually. But there's nothing you can do."

"Are you going to tell me or not?"

"Nope."

Maddie sighed. If Danny wasn't going to tell her, there was no point pushing it. Instead, she turned her attention to a different question.

"What are you doing up at this hour anyway? Have you even slept at all?"

"Well... an hour or so I think."

"Why not longer?"

"More stuff I'm not about to tell you."

Maddie was at a loss for words, until she noticed his right arm was dripping something red onto the floor, and there was more on his sheets. A feeling of cold dread seeped through her, and before Danny could so much as blink, she grabbed his arm and flipped it over so his hand was palm-up. All color drained from her face as her suspicions were confirmed.

His forearm was slashed down the middle, from elbow to about three fourths of the way along his palm. The cut started shallow, became deeper, then shallow again, like some kind of horrendous claw mark. At its deepest, the cut looked about half an inch deep and it was bleeding heavily. Also, strangely, when she looked close it was as if she could see his flesh slowly knitting back together and the bleeding was steadily slowing. The injury itself, however, was not what disturbed the mother so deeply. Rather, it was Danny's actions while he was so badly hurt. His voice and expression hadn't showed any signs of any pain whatsoever, meaning he'd endured far worse than this before. He also seemed completely unconcerned with his injury, despite the fact that quite obviously the artery that ran through his wrist had obviously been seriously damaged. And now...

She became aware of the fact that he was struggling frantically to break free of her grip, eventually taking hold of the back of her neck with his left hand, squeezing tightly and forcing her to release him with a sharp gasp of pain. He in turn relinquished his hold on her and moved his arm out of reach, smiling apologetically at her as she fixed him with the same frightened stare as before.

"Sorry. It's...nothing. Just a scratch."

"Just a scratch?" She repeated faintly. "That's not just a scratch, young man, that's a life-threatening injury. Don't they teach you _anything_ in Biology!"

"Trust me, mom, I've had worse." His tone was as if he were addressing an everyday issue as simple as trying to catch the bus on time, casual and unconcerned. This shocked Maddie for obvious reasons. "This should be gone before noon. See?" He presented her with his forearm again, and what she saw drove shock away in favor of curiosity and confusion.

The shallowest parts were already completely eliminated, his palm now unscathed, and the deeper areas had shallowed. The blood flow had slowed to a steady trickle, and there was no doubt that he wouldn't even have a scar once it finished healing. She turned to stare at his face in confusion, silently asking,

'_How the heck...?'_

He grinned sheepishly, withdrawing his arm once more.

"I heal fast."

"But... _Ho_—?"

"How? Another question I'm not going to answer." He replied, cutting her off. He slid off the bed and reached beneath it, pulling out one of the Fenton First Aid Kits and proceeding to bandage his arm. Halfway through the process he glanced back up at his mother, who was still staring.

"You know you're not getting any answers from me. Why don't you go get dad up?"

Realizing she'd outlived her welcome, Maddie nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her... and pressing her ear to it. If her son was treating injuries like that the way he was and keeping secrets from them, it was her right to invade his privacy a little and figure out what was going on with him. It wasn't long before he began muttering to himself angrily.

"Damn Box Ghost... If it weren't for him distracting me, I could have kept from getting clawed up by Bertrand, but _no_, he _had_ to show up right then. Argh... At least we caught both of them, so that's one threat and one nuisance down. For now anyway. They'll both come back eventually though. If only mom hadn't caught me, I could have shoved them back in Ghost Zone where they belong." At this point there came a sound vaguely like one of the Fenton ecto-guns being fired. "Still, been a quiet week so far. Only five attacks in one day... These days it's usually more like twice that. But I'm not complaining, that's more time to just hang out for me. Better check and see if the lab's still empty, see if I can get these two back in the Ghost Zone after all..."

Maddie jerked away from the door, expecting her son to come through it at any moment. But there was nothing, not even the sound of approaching footsteps. Curiosity getting the best of her, she opened the door a crack and peeked back inside... To find the room was empty. In fact, there was no sign Danny had ever even been there. The bed had been made and the blood on the floor had been cleaned, probably with the cleaning equipment kept in the Fenton First Aid Kit, which, judging by the fact that it was no longer in sight, Maddie assumed had been returned to its position beneath the bed. The window wasn't even open to suggest he'd climbed out for whatever reason. Confusion resurfaced and she decided she'd rather not wake Jack but instead go and figure it out over a cup of coffee.

Maddie moved downstairs and into the kitchen, lost in thought.

"_Damn Box Ghost..."_

_Box Ghost? That annoying one who's always obsessing over boxes? What was Danny doing with that ghost? Or any ghost at all, for that matter? I thought he hated them..._

"_...If it weren't for him distracting me, I could have kept from getting clawed up by Bertrand..."_

_Getting clawed up? Is that what gave him that cut? Why'd he say it as if he were fighting an animal? Who's Bertrand?_

"_...At least we caught both of them, so that's one threat and one nuisance down..."_

_We? Is he in some sort of gang?_

_Caught? Is he in a ghost hunting group? Why wouldn't he tell us about it?_

_Threat? Which one, that Bertrand character or the Box Ghost?_

_Nuisance? That has to be the Box Ghost. So then Bertrand's the threat... Threat to what? His life?_

"_...If only mom hadn't caught me, I could have shoved them back in Ghost Zone where they belong..."_

_Well that certainly sounds like ghost hunting to me. But why wouldn't he want me to get involved?_

_...a sound vaguely like one of the Fenton ecto-guns being fired..._

_What was that noise anyway? None of our inventions sound quite like that. Could that be something he built himself? Why'd he use it?_

"_...Still, been a quiet week so far. Only five attacks in one day... These days it's usually more like twice that..."_

_Five attacks? Ghost attacks! But we didn't even get one call!_

_Usually ten a day! No wonder he's so tired all the time! But we only got three calls all month... Did fight off _all_ the others _by himself!

"_...But I'm not complaining, that's more time to just hang out for me..."_

_He makes it sound like he doesn't have a choice in whether or not he fights these ghosts. Have they been targeting him? Singling him out for attack?_

"_...Better check and see if the lab's still empty, see if I can get these two back in the Ghost Zone after all..." ...But there was nothing, not even the sound of approaching footsteps... ...the room was empty... ...The window wasn't even open to suggest he'd climbed out..._

_If the room was empty, and he didn't come through the door or climb out the window—or, for that matter, move at all—how'd he get out? It's not like he could've just phased through the floor._

Maddie sipped her coffee, thinking back to their earlier conversation.

"_What was that flash?"_

_...A look of terror flitted across his face..._

_Why was he so scared at the metion of a flash of light?_

"_Flash? What flash?"_

"_I saw a flash from your room."_

"_Umm... Well... I can't imagine why..."_

_He knows what that flash was, and he obviously doesn't want me to._

"_Is there something wrong, Danny?"_

"_Well... Yes, actually. But there's nothing you can do."_

_What is it, Danny? What's wrong in your life that I can't help you with?_

"_Are you going to tell me or not?"_

"_Nope."_

_Why? Why, Daniel James Fenton, won't you trust me with whatever you're hiding?_

"_What are you doing up at this hour anyway? Have you even slept at all?"_

"_Well... an hour or so I think."_

"_Why not longer?"_

"_More stuff I'm not about to tell you."_

_Whatever it is, it must be extremely dangerous. What are you hiding? Why are you afraid to tell me?_

_...His voice and expression hadn't showed any signs of any pain whatsoever..._

_How much worse than that can you get in the way of pain? He must have had several injuries as bad as, and worse than, that before. But why does he think we can't help? Especailly if it's ghost-related?_

_...seemed completely unconcerned with his injury..._

_That must have been because of his fast-healing thing. How often has he come home with something like that and we had no clue? He's all too good at hiding it._

_...he was struggling frantically to break free of her grip..._

_Why'd he freak out that badly? He obviously wants to keep us oblivious, but what of?_

_...taking hold of the back of her neck with his left hand, squeezing tightly and forcing her to release him with a sharp gasp of pain..._

_He sure knows his pressure points. Obviously, he pays more attention in class than his grades show. Which means it's interupting his schooling._

"_Sorry. It's...nothing. Just a scratch."_

_How can he take something like that so lightly?_

"_Just a scratch? That's not just a scratch, young man, that's a life-threatening injury. Don't they teach you _anything_ in Biology!"_

"_Trust me, mom, I've had worse."_

_...His tone was as if he were addressing an everyday issue as simple as trying to catch the bus on time, casual and unconcerned..._

_How much worse!_

_...no doubt that he wouldn't even have a scar once it finished healing..._

_How many scars would have if he didn't heal the way he does? How many _does_ he have?_

"_I heal fast."_

"_But... _Ho—?_"_

"_How? Another question I'm not going to answer."_

_How _does_ he heal like that? I could look through the entire hospital files and not find even one other person who does. Is he useing some ghost-related item or something?_

"_You know you're not getting any answers from me..."_

_That was awefuly forward of him for talking to me. What made him think he had the right to talk to me like that? For that matter, why'd I not only let him get away with it, but do as he said?_

_So many peices to the puzzle, and none of them fit together._

Another sip of coffee accompanied her decision.

_I have to watch Danny. I'll figure out what he's hiding..._

_If it's the last thing I do._


	2. Chapter 2

Well, seems that people actually like this fic. I was expecting a maximum of one review but I ended up with ten reviews in the first twenty-four hours. Two notes for future reference: I will be trying to update as often as possible, but I can't guarantee a regular interval.

Also, many of you brought up the issue of Danny acting out of character. That's because, in this fic, Danny is supposed to be somewhat OOC. This is to give Maddie more to be suspicious of and steer the plot of the story.

Finally, I'd like to send a thanks to all my reviewers: purrbaby101, Epona Harper, Invader Johnny, Esme Kali Phantom, DP fan, The Fluff Ghost, angel4u185, Yami-chan and Unrealistic, The Sleep Warrior, AnitalavalatinA, Dark Draconian, Beyonce's Angel925, Arabic Blessing, ghostanimal, HiddenAuthor, Anonymous Reader13, Bunny Bubble, Crazy About Purple, and Fan-Fic-CC27. You guys rock!

-----------+-----------

**What are you? More Importantly, What The Heck Am I?**

**Chapter Two**

Later that morning, Danny came down for breakfast looking as exhausted as ever. It was a Saturday, but his sleep-deprived brain had forgotten that hours ago. He stumbled down the stairs, sat at the table, and nearly face planted in the bowl before he shook himself and instead filled it with cereal rather than his face. Maddie watched him, wondering how on earth she was going to get Danny to spill the beans. _Maybe another day out bowling?_

"Danny?" she began.

"Hunh?" he drawled groggily in reply.

"What do you say to going bowling today?"

"...Don' I 'ave school?"

Maddie was distracted at that point by a fit of the giggles, so Jazz answered for her.

"Of course not, Danny. It's Saturday."

"...Oh..." Somehow, the embarrassment seemed to wake him up.

"Duh. Sure, I guess." He acted as if he were going to say more, but suddenly his eyes widened and he gave a sharp gasp.

"Umm, I gotta go." With that, the boy leaped from his chair and sprinted from the room. Maddie stared after him, surprised. No, this was nowhere near the first time he'd run out unexpectedly like that, but it _was _the first time she'd noticed that gasp. What it was about—and how she'd ever missed it before—was way beyond her. _Does that have something to do with... whatever he's doing?_

Suddenly, she realized neither Jack nor Jazz had mentioned Danny's bandages. Now that she thought about it, she didn't remember seeing him wearing any either. Apparently, the cut had healed faster than he'd said it would.

During the time in which he was gone, Jazz went over to her friend Jessica's house and Jack returned to the lab to continue work on the new Fenton Specter Shrinker, an improved version of the Fenton Crammer guaranteed to shrink ghosts and only ghosts (the old Crammer had shrunk everyone in the family at least twice by now). Maddie, on the other hand, waited for Danny to return, wondering what he was doing anyway.

When he finally returned an hour later, there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary, other than the fact that he was slightly out of breath. Maddie gave him a quizzical look, but he didn't even acknowledge it. All he would say was that he insisted she put on some more normal clothes first. She let the matter drop and did as requested, still keeping to her black-and-blue theme with blue jeans and a black T-shirt with blue trim. It certainly looked more normal (and somewhat better) on her than her typical spandex jumpsuit. Afterward, they left the building for the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle (which, henceforth, shall be known as the GAV). The drive to the bowling alley was uneventful, as were the first couple minutes of the actual game. Then Maddie got the conversation started.

"Danny, how _did_ you do that a week ago anyway?" she questioned as her turn ended. Danny didn't answer until after he'd mowed down all ten pins in one throw of the ball.

"Oh, strike! Yes! Do what?"

"Nice shot, Danny!" A quick high-five between the two of them followed this statement. "At the karate class? You didn't exactly used to be a born master."

"I guess I... just got better?" he answered, an edge of nervousness in his voice.

"What drove you to train to that level? You don't get that naturally."

"Uh... Dash?" He was definitely nervous now.

"What could a high school bully do to you so you needed to learn to defend yourself that thoroughly?"

"Try and stuff me in lockers and take his every bad grade out on me. Which, by the way, is the result of his every test."

"Ouch, gutter ball. I don't think he could be that much of a threat, Danny. You're a lot stronger than you look, as I know from personal experience."

"Dang, you're off your game today. I haven't seen you get a gutter ball for a while." Danny commented before answering her previous statement. "Okay, so maybe it's not Dash. But I told you last night: there's nothing you can do."

"So, it's that same thing that kept you up last night?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"And that would be...?"

"I already told you mom. I'm not about to tell you, or anyone else." Maddie was surprised at his tone of voice. She'd never heard her son speak with such confidence and power. It reminded her of the notorious Phantom, whom she considered a worthy challenge to hunt. She'd also never seen him with that stern of an expression, which reminded her of herself when she was NOT going to give in to something.

_Well, there's a side to him I've never seen before._

Before she could say anything more, he let out another gasp like the one at breakfast and the temperature dropped. Someone screamed at the other end of the building and the place was thrown into chaos. All the signs pointed to a ghost attack, as was proved the case when the green-and-white ghost wolf came bounding into view, snarling. Maddie was the only one who didn't run. Except for Dan—

Suddenly, she realized he _was _running. But not out of the building like everyone else. He seemed to be running to the _bathroom_, of all places.

"Danny! Get back over here!"

He stopped and turned around, and for the second time that day, Maddie was surprised by his expression. His face was cast with a serious, battle-ready countenance that she'd only ever seen on the ghost boy's face before, and his eyes were so intense they seemed to glow. Of course, because of the distance she couldn't see that their color had changed to Phantom's dazzling green...

The boy hesitated, then came running back to his mother, looking half annoyed and half worried. As he approached, she thought she saw his eyes as the green they had taken on when he realized a ghost was attacking for a split second, before he blinked and they were back to their normal ice-blue. She shook her head to clear what she had decided was an illusion and pulled out a Fenton Bazooka from seemingly nowhere, still watching her confusing son.

Before she could use it, however, said boy tackled her like a football player and sent them both sprawling, triggering the foul buzzer on someone's game in the process and saving his mother from having her arm ripped off by the ghost wolf. Instead, said homicidal wolf rushed past, harming no one. Before she could act, Danny grabbed the Bazooka from her and aimed it at the ghost, pulled the trigger, and got it on the first shot. All within the space of three seconds. The portal opened and the wolf was sucked back into Ghost Zone, out of everyone's hair.

Maddie stared in shock. She was now certain her fifteen-year-old son was hunting ghosts in secret, so secret that the media hadn't even realized it. But why wouldn't he want to work with his parents? Who were his teammates? And how was he keeping it so secret?

He turned to face her again, expression cleared into a more concerned look rather than the intense, nearly frightening one of before. He dropped the large gun and proffered his hand to her. She took it and he helped her up, speaking with a tone to match his expression.

"You okay, mom?"

"Y-Yeah... How did you do that?"

"You trained me."

"Yeah, but not that well."

"So I practiced a bit. Jazz finally got under my skin about never being too prepared. I prepared for a ghost attack." He shrugged at this. "Didn't wanna be as bad as Jazz. You should see her aim the—" He cut himself off, looking as if he thought he'd said too much, then quickly started speaking again. "—Crammer. She's shrunk me like fifty times."

Maddie raised an eyebrow at his slip-up.

_That's not what he was going to say. And that means that Jazz isn't going to help, if she's in on his secret too. And Jack? He has his heart in the right place, but he can be a bit too obsessive. I guess I'm on my own, then._

**-------------**

Later that night—at 11:54 P.M. to be precise—Maddie was still wide awake, working on the new Specter Shrinker and again contemplating the puzzle that was her son.

"_...Don' I 'ave school?"_

"_Of course not, Danny. It's Saturday."_

_Not to mention_ July. _He's not even in summer school... What made him forget that?_

_...Suddenly his eyes widened and he gave a sharp gasp._

"Umm, I gotta go." With that, the boy leaped from his chair and sprinted from the room.

_What was that about? He came back all out of breath..._

_That settles it. That gasp had something to do with his ghost fighting. But none of our sensors went off, so that means he can detect them sooner than we can. How does it tie in with that weird gasp though? Is it like some sort of tiny device he wears on his clothes that gets cold or something? Maybe nanobots in the bloodstream? Or perhaps something more like..._

Maddie's scientist curiosity was on overdrive, and she quickly lost track of what she was doing with her hands. In this momentary lapse in concentration, she connected red wire to blue, blue wire to red, and screwed on the covering panel. It was _(supposed)_ to be finished. She lifted the new weapon to the light of the overhead lamps slung from the ceiling of the lab as if inspecting it, then pointed it at an item that had been previously taken from the Ghost Zone. It was a lumpy, indistinguishable _something_, but it was definitely a ghostly item. Then she pulled the trigger.

If all had gone right, the item would have shrunk to about half an inch long. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

The Shrinker exploded. Maddie was caught in the explosion; but rather than being thrown backwards, a searing pain began rushing through her. She cried out as she _felt_ her every atom mutate and change. Of course, _she_ had no idea that her DNA was being altered so as to allow her to walk the tightrope that was the line between life and death without falling to either side; all she knew was that it hurt like hell. The answers to her questions about her son were becoming part of her, all in a flash of light and a few seconds' agony. Her suit changed to forest green in color with steel gray collar, belt, gloves, and boots; the hood disappeared altogether. Her hair turned black and her eyes a radiant green; almost the same shade of Phantom's, but darker.

How did this happen to Maddie Fenton? Simple. The Specter Shrinker—like all of their previous inventions—ran on ectoenergy. When she connected the wires wrong, that set the current to conflicting patterns—and ectoenergy doesn't act like electricity in that sort of situation. It doesn't just stop and the object not work. It explodes.

She passed out and reverted to normal, a pair of blue-white rings spreading across her body. It was the birth of Madeline Spirit.

-----------+-----------

I figure this was a rather obvious and expected development, although some of you may not have expected it this quickly. But, the point of the story _is_ Maddie's discovering of her own powers as well as Danny's. If anyone feels I'm snitching their OC name with 'Madeline Spirit', rest assured that I did not intend to do so. You try looking for a name that goes with 'Maddie' or 'Madeline' and see if you can fine anything that sounds better. Personally, I find Spirit the best match with it.

In other news, this chapter feels really weak and a bit rushed to me… Sorry if I disappointed anyone—I disappointed myself, at least. Constructive criticism very welcome. Flames accepted.


End file.
